Blogs

(Steve sells home plate) Stuffed chicken breasts sounds difficult and gourmet - not true. A fantastic way to renovate leftovers like roasted squash and extend a pound of chicken to feed a family. Very pretty morsels too! Need a printable recipe? Click here.

Why not make this the winter you explore the snowy backcountry on your own terms? It's a whole different mountain range out there when it's covered in multiple feet of the white stuff. Backcountry skiing, snowshoeing and camping don't come without risks, though. Besides needing the right warm gear, you should also be aware of avalanche dangers and prepared to deal with the worst. On Tuesday night (Dec. 7) at 7 p.m.

This past fall, Pioneer Square and the International District got a face lift, thanks to some local artists. A new art installation project, StoreFronts Seattle (made possible by nonprofit arts organization Shunpike), allows artists (including local quilt artist Luke Haynes and couple Charles and Cindy Martin who boast an impressive pinball machine collection) to showcase their work in various vacant buildings free of charge.

Searching for a classy way to fete the holidays, without messing up the kitchen or risking setting the turkey on fire? Enjoy a delicious Christmas Day meal at ART Restaurant at the Four Seasons hotel, or ring in the New Year in style with a champagne-themed dinner that'll leave you waltzing into 2011. (And in between, why not round up a few friends and indulge in their Chocolate buffet too?)

If you really consider yourself a Seattlite but haven't seen salmon spawning in local streams, now is your chance. For the next few weeks chum and coho salmon will continue to return to the gravel beds of their youth at Pipers Creek, Thornton Creek and Boeing Creek on the north side of town, as well as at Longfellow Creek and Fauntleroy Creek in West Seattle, among other riparian zones around town.

(The buck stops here) The perfect local, organic, nutirent-rich Thanksgiving side dish. By massaging salt into kale, the bitterness disappears and the leaves become tender. Dress it with olive oil and apple cider vinegar after adding fresh apples, currants, nuts and crumbled cheese. A HUGE favorite among both my students and friends. Need printable recipe? Click here.

I must not be the only one thinking about skiing now that the snows of winter have finally begun to fall, in our fair city no less. Those so-inclined should sharpen up their edges and head out for the slopes this coming weekend. Here is a run-down of some area ski slopes and their opening days for this 2010-2011 season...
Mt. Baker: already open! hit the slopes today!
Crystal Mountain: opens for the season on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday Nov. 25

Cafe Flora Thursday, November 25 from 1:30-6:45pm Tired of Tofurkey? Café Flora is serving up a delicious three-course prix-fixe Thanksgiving menu that even your meat-eating friends love. No one will be missing the bird around this holiday table. On the Menu: 3-course prix-fixe menu Price: $50 per adult; $25 children 12 and under

Our edit team (and a good chunk of our loyal readers) are still recovering from an epic evening of food, drinks, music and entertainment at last night's Best of 2010 Party. While I'd much rather recap the evening over a city-wide brunch with all of you, I thought it might be easier to put together a snap shot of the evening's convo via iPhone Storify, my new storytelling obsession.